Partners Stick Together
by Keiko Fujiwara
Summary: Takes place shortly after "Partners in Crime."


**Disclaimer: **

**I do not own CW's **_**Beauty and the Beast**_** in any way. **

**This will be a one-shot and will take place right after that cute fire escape scene! **

Partners Stick Together

Keiko Fujiwara

After sharing one last kiss with the woman he loves, Vincent hopped off of Catherine's fire escape and landed on a semi before leaping to the ground. He turned and looked back towards Catherine and gave her a smile. All thoughts of leaving her and New York City behind faded as he saw the loving gaze in her eyes still looking towards him. As he started jogging into the darkness of the city, he was unaware of a pair of eyes watching him leave Catherine's apartment complex.

For some unexplained reason, he felt as if he could take Muirfield on that very moment. Never before has any woman ever made his heart soar as much as Catherine did. As fast as his heart was beating, he was surprised he was still himself. In fact, he's never felt more human since before Afghanistan. As he continued jogging to wherever his feet were guiding him, he heard his phone go off. He pulled it out and the caller ID said: JT

"Hello?"

"_Are you still at Cat's?" _

"Nah…I just left. Where're you?" Vincent asked.

"_In the sewers. Where else?" _

"Okay…I'll be there soon." Vincent replied. If anything, he hoped he and his best friend would be able to find a decent place before the week is out. He didn't want to be the reason when JT throws his back out at an older age because of hazardous rock mattresses.

Evan watched Vincent pick up his speed before looking back up towards Cat's apartment. After all of this time, the one woman he truly cared for has been lying to him. Every time he has ever asked her about the cross-genetic species, she would always brush off the topic and find something else to say. Now he knew why…She was in love with it.

Without further ado, he started walking towards the nearest pub, knowing he was going to be in for a rough night. If only Catherine knew just how much he really does care and love her. If only…

**Beauty and the Beast**

"So did everything work out between Cat and Tess?" JT asked as Vincent walked towards him in the sewers.

"Yeah…thanks for helping me with the bodies earlier." Vincent smirked.

"No problemo, dude. If I ever get tired of my current job, I can always go into grave-digging."

Vincent rolled his eyes before saying, "How did things go with Evan? Is he still convinced I'm dead?"

"Yeah. Though, we may have a slight problem on our hands…and this has nothing to do with Muirfield." JT said.

"What is it this time?"

"Well…I may have accidentally pushed Evan into confessing his feelings for Cat." JT replied but immediately stammered when he saw his best friend's eyes starting to glow, "I-i-in my d-d-defense, V, Evan DID only say he was going to confess to her. He never said a-anything about making any moves on her."

"How the hell did you encourage him to tell MY GIRLFRIEND he's in love with her?!" Vincent glared as he breathed slowly while trying to stay in control.

"Well…it's a long story…I think I'll spare you the details so you won't end up ripping off Evan's head. Let me tell you, my friend; THAT would be a recipe for disaster! Besides, I tried to discourage him but the more I rambled on how he should stick to his work instead of chasing a dream, it solidified his conviction and well…now…he's going to confront her—let her know how she feels."

"Did he say when?"

"No…but from the way he left his morgue in a hurry, I'd say was on his way to her apartment…and that was a little over an hour ago."

Vincent turned around and started towards the exit of the sewers.

"Dude, where are you going? It's the middle of the night."

"Exactly…I'm going back to Catherine's. If he was on his way to her place like you thought, he could already be there."

"Relax V. Even if he is there, Cat can take care of herself. She's completely smitten with you, Vincent. You don't have to worry about her flipping her feelings onto a guy who practically lives with dead people."

"Of course I know that Catherine can take care of herself, JT. I'm not worried about Catherine. I know damn well she can take care of herself. I'm more worried of Evan's intentions." Vincent replied.

"Vincent, Evan seems like a pretty down-to-earth kind of guy. I doubt he'll try something on Cat. Then again…he would be blinded by love…so anything is possible."

With that, Vincent left a trail of dust behind him as he rushed off to find his beloved before Birthday Boy could have a chance to make a move on her.

"Looks like I'm staying in a hotel for the night." JT rolled his eyes as he started picking up his bags. Knowing Vincent, Evan would be lucky to leave with only a punch if he's caught trying to put moves on Cat. 'I just hope Vincent doesn't take things too far.'

**Beauty and the Beast**

After taking a nice, hot shower, Catherine felt refreshed. Part of her wished Vincent didn't leave but sometimes, things can't be helped. She smiled to herself, glad her boyfriend was so loyal to their third musketeer. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a loud knock on her front door. 'That's odd…who would be pounding on my door this late at night?'

She made way to open the door and once she did, Evan stumbled into her little hallway. "E-Evan? What're you doing here?"

He sluggishly stood to his feet and placed his hand on the wall for support. Before he spoke, he swallowed hard. "You…You've been…been lying…to me."

"W-what do you mean?" Catherine stuttered. She wasn't scared; she was just worried about Vincent…and the possibility of Evan finally figuring out about their relationship.

"You…You've been sl…sl…sleeeeepinggg with…with…the beast!" he finally stated, accusing Catherine of the obvious.

"Evan…I think you've had too much to drink. I'm going to call a cab to take you home." She replied.

As she turned around, he grabbed ahold of her arm and said, "Wait."

"Evan, you're drunk. Let me go so you don't do anything you will regret." She stated calmly.

"After everything I've dunnnn forrrr youuuuu, thissss issss my re…re…repayyyment?" Evan said as he looked at her intently. "Cat…Don't you…you knowwww howww much I…I love you?"

"Evan, I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way about you." Catherine replied, hoping he would take the hint and leave her apartment.

He swallowed again before saying, "That's be…becaussssse you love that THING!"

"He isn't a thing, Evan!" she shot back.

"Sez you!" Evan shouted as he shook her shoulders.

Catherine had no idea what has gotten into the medical examiner. Never before has ever grabbed her and shook her violently. Then again, she's never seen him so drunk before. He's even drunker than he was at her birthday party. "Evan, I'm warning you, you need to leave. Now!"

"You don't geht it, do you?" he fired. "I've j-j-joined f-forces with the DEVIL in order to protect you! Yet…Yet…Yet here you are sleeeeeeping with the very monster I'm tryingggg to hunt!"

With that, Catherine freed her arm from his grip and slapped him as hard as possible. "You have NO RIGHT to say that!"

He stumbled backwards and she used this opportunity to walk away from him. She grabbed her cell phone. As she started dialing the cab service, Evan placed his hand over her phone. "I'm ssssorry C-Caaaat."

She sighed. With him being this drunk, there's no way he'll ever remember this moment. "Look, Evan, I'm sorry I lied to you but it was for your own good. I don't love you…at least not in that way, Evan. I am in love with another man…Please, Evan, leave."

"Cat, isss…isss…isss he hurtinggg you? I cannnn pro…protect youuuu."

"No, Evan. He's not. He's the sweetest man in the universe." Catherine smiled. "He's my life now."

"I COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR LIFE!" Evan shouted, surprising Catherine. The alcohol is causing Evan to act completely opposite of his normal, chivalrous self. Catherine did not like this side of Evan at all.

"Evan, you're scaring me. I'm calling a cab before I call the cops."

"And whut? You goingggg to tell…to them about your sex buddy? Becuz…becuz he isss the rea..reasonnnn I went to the pubbbb in the first plasssssse."

Catherine ignored his comment and started dialing again. Before she could press the TALK button, Evan smacked her phone from her hand and crashed his lips against hers. Immediately, Catherine gave him another slap—this one harder than the first one—and said, "Get out, Evan!"

"Cat…I…"

"I SAID GET OUT!" she shouted as she pointed to the door.

He reached for her but she took a step backwards. "I don't want to see you in my apartment ever again…at least when you're drunk! When you sober up and want to have a more civilized conversation about my boyfriend, fine! But not until then!"

Evan sluggishly stood to his feet and gave Catherine one more apologetic look but all she did was point to the door. He turned around and walked towards it before stopping and saying, "I hope yourrr happeeee Caaat…Enjoy your newww boy toy while you can."

Catherine wanted so much to shoot him right now. In fact, she was tempted to grab her gun while he wasn't looking. When he disappeared from her sight, she closed her door and locked it. Then, she picked up her phone and finished calling a cab service, telling them that a tall man with sandy brown hair was in need of a ride home.

Even though Evan was completely out of line within the past twenty minutes, she still cared for him. She hoped he would get his act together before seeing her again. Although she did still care for him, as of right now, she didn't care if the cab service couldn't find him. She'd be satisfied if he had to crawl home.

She pushed her hair back and sighed. Luckily she was able to convince Tess to join her in helping to keep Vincent a secret…as for Evan…she hardly sees that even possible. She will have to hope that he'll forget about Vincent's existence when he sobers up.

She walked into her room and closed her door before locking it too. As she pulled down the covers of her bed, she heard a knock on her window. Smiling to herself, she opened it and Vincent immediately climbed inside, wrapping his arms around her.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Hey."

He could tell something wasn't right. Her heartbeat was escalated before she even entered her room. "What's wrong?"

"It's just been a super long night." She replied.

"Care to share?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't shut him out. He had worked so hard to knock down a lot of her thick walls and he wanted her to continue to confide in him.

"I don't even know where to begin." she said as they sat on her bed. She leaned her head on his shoulder and laced her fingers with his. "Before I tell you anything, I want you to know that no matter what happens from now and into the future, I will always love you, Vincent."

"Catherine, where is this coming from? I already know you love me." He chuckled. "I know that nothing would ever change that."

He leaned in and kissed her gingerly before saying, "If you're reluctant to tell me because you're afraid of how I'll act, I promise I won't kill anyone. Scout's honor."

"I'm not worried about that, Vincent. I promise. I'm more worried about what he said…"

"He?"

"Evan…he stopped by tonight."

"I figured he would." Vincent replied as he tried so hard not to show his inner anger.

"You knew?"

"No…not really…but JT told me something tonight that may have pushed Evan in an unwanted direction…he said that by the way Evan left the morgue, it looked as if he was headed for your place."

"Try the bar." She said.

"Hm?"

"I don't think he came here right away. Vincent…I think he may have seen us on the fire escape earlier tonight…I think…I think he may have seen you jump into the street." Catherine said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…for starters, Evan came into my apartment as drunk as he possibly could be without puking his guts out….I'm not completely sure where or how he received his information, but…if anything…I think he saw us together….because one of the first things that came out of his mouth was something about accusing me of sleeping with the beast that he's been trying so hard to hunt down. Of course I slapped him for stepping completely out of line and told him to leave but he wouldn't. I don't know why but Evan really worried me tonight…It wasn't because of him seeing us together…it was because of his seemingly abusiveness as a drunk."

"Did he hurt you?!" Vincent asked, in shock.

"No…not really….he grabbed my shoulders and shook me a little but…no…he didn't really hurt me…but I think that if I hadn't gained control of the situation, he might have."

"That doesn't sound like the Evan we know." Vincent stated.

"Which is why it worried me. He was way too drunk for his own good. He must have drunk half his body's weight in alcohol."

"Alcohol can lower a person's inhibitions…not all the time is someone considered a happy drunk. Sometimes, if the consumer is angry enough, the alcohol can impair his or her judgment—allowing him or her to lose control. Although Evan could have been more of a happy drunk at your party, seeing us together created a shock, per se, in his body—changing his normal drunken state to a more…aggressive one. Did anything else happen?"

"Yeah…he…um…he confessed his feelings to me…but I told him I did not feel for him in that way. He obviously didn't like my response. After several times of me telling him to leave, he found an opportunity and kissed me."

Suddenly Vincent's started to shift color but the moment Catherine caressed his cheek, his shift subsided. "Hey, it's okay. I pushed him away and told him to get the hell out of my home. Of course he was upset so I told him that whenever he's sober and wants to have a more civilized conversation concerning my love life, then maybe he and I can talk…but not until he gets his priorities straight."

"Let's just hope his awaited brutal hangover will be punishment enough." Vincent replied.

"Thank you, Vincent." Catherine smiled before giving him a light kiss.

"What was that for?"

"For receiving everything I've told you with grace. Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't think twice about giving Evan a good punch or two."

"Believe me, the temptation is still there." He smiled. "Did he finally take a hint and leave?"

"Yeah…though…he said something weird…and it worries me even more."

"Why?"

"Because he told me to enjoy you while I can…Vincent…remember? Evan works for Muirfield. What if…what if he tells Muirfield about you?"

"Catherine, I'm sure he won't. He's probably too drunk to even dial a number properly…When you go to work tomorrow, act naturally and if he shows up, try and find out if he forgot everything."

Catherine nodded. "I honestly have no idea what I'd do without you, Vincent."

"I should be the one saying that, Catherine." he whispered before leaning in to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, not having any plans of letting him leave her bed. For now, he was all hers and she was going to take every advantage she could while he was with her, in her bed.

Before anything else could unravel, Vincent pulled away and whispered, "Where's Heather?"

"She's staying with my Dad for a while. She still hasn't fully wrapped her mind around everything that has happened and thought she could use a breather."

"Oh." He replied.

"Hey, it isn't your fault, Vincent." Catherine stroked his face. "Like I said before, Heather would be dead if not for you."

"That still doesn't erase the fact that I killed Darius."

"No…it doesn't. Sometimes…sometimes things beyond our control happen. It was an accident, Vincent. Don't blame yourself for killing him. Believe me, I know what years and years of blame can do to a person…it isn't pretty."

"I guess we will always share similar scars." Vincent replied.

"Well, you know, we both came together out of pretty dark places…but…I'm determined to help us transcend from the darkness. Someday, maybe, I'm sure Muirfield will go down and then you can live your life again." She smiled.

"And you? Where will you be?" he asked.

"Right there, beside you." She replied. "You want to know why?"

"Is it because I'm completely irresistible?" he chuckled.

Catherine laughed before saying, "Well, there's that…but…also….because…" Vincent started leaning into her, with his lips mere centimeters away, causing Catherine to lose part of her concentration. "…because…partners…always….stick…to..geth..erhmmmm." She felt his lips against hers before she could fully continue her thoughts.

Without further ado, Vincent and Catherine began another new chapter in their lives—knowing that, no matter what trials they would face, they would always remain together because that's what partners do…they stick together until the end of time.

**Fin. **

**KF: Well did you like this one shot? :)**


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